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The highest point on Inishturk is in the townland of Mountain Common. The peak is unnamed on the OS 6 map, though the names Knockleckan and Knocknagormore appear to the west near the coast.
Inishturk is the highest hill in the Mayo Islands area and the 1408th highest in Ireland.Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1041/?PHPSESSID=trm0mtojfp3nnlb3ca37r53d71

Picture from lennyantonelli : Inishturk. Panorama shot by John Paul Tiernan. I'm in the middle for scale.

Picture: Inishturk. Panorama shot by John Paul Tiernan. I'm in the middle for scale.

A little-visited outpost

by lennyantonelli 17 Sep 2012

About 14km from Roonagh quay, Inishturk vies with Tory for the title of our most remote inhabited outpost. The last census gave the population as 53.

There were just four people on the ferry when I went over in July. Two trails are marked from the main village, a cluster of cottages around the island's beautiful, natural harbour. The trails are described on www.mayotrails.ie.

We followed the purple trail from the harbour, out of the village and up through a gate onto rough commonage. Just after the gate, you can turn right and take a quick hike up the clifftop for a precipitous view, fulmars circling in the void below.

We headed back down from the cliff and followed the purple trail onwards to wee Lough Coolaknick, then veered the trail off up to the SIgnal tower on the hill above, right beside the the island's highest point. Views from the islands off Connemara and Mayo always present a spectacular panorama of the mountains from the Bens and Maamturks in the south, and north to Clare Island, Achill and the Nephins.

Next we headed west over rough commonage to the 100m+ cliffs at the back (west side) of the island, then followed the cliffs south west — this, the island's wild and exposed side, is its highlight. It's a shame the marked trails only briefly visit it. But terrain is quite knobbly and confusing — one second I was sure I was well in from the cliff's edge, a few steps forward and I was standing on the edge of oblivion. And the cliffs cut in and out of the coast, so proceed carefully.

Once we passed the promonotory of Dromore Head we turned inland, following a stream and some small lakes up to a stone wall. We turned left here, following the wall (keeping it on our right) through the damp grassy interior of the island until it rejoined the purple trail and landed at the island's wild and rough GAA pitch. We followed the trail back to a paved boreen, but took a short detour to visit Portdoon — a beautiful natural harbour accessed only by a currach-wide channel through rocky cliffs. Legend has it Danish pirates used this cove as a base to ambush ships passing along the coast.

From here's its a straightforward road walk back to the pier — if you fancy a swim you'll pass two stunning beaches on the way, and the pub too. Our route took us a leisurely 4-5 hours.

A few final things: The lack of big hills keeps our western islands relatively dry, with showers usually passing over quite quickly, then letting loose on inland mountains. So if it's raining in the hills, consider the islands rather than turning home.

OSI Discovery Series 37 offers scant detail for little Inishturk, but there's a highly detailed map available on the island — try the boat, or the development office (same building as the pub/shop), the post office or any of the B&Bs for it.

The route mapped here almost exactly matches my own, and will show you most of the island http://www.walkingworldireland.com/Walking_World_Ireland/Inishturk.html Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1041/comment/14817/